Jatiya Party MP Kazi Firoz Rashid on Tuesday harshly criticised Finance Minister AMA Muhith for placing the national budget for the 2018-19 fiscal which what he said is laced with both poison and honey to facilitate those plundered banks and a few rich people.
“This budget has no political and economic philosophy. This budget is also against the principle and ideology of Awami League…..the Finance Minister formulated the budget mixing both poison and honey,” he said while participating in the general discussion on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year in Parliament.
The Jatiya Party MP further said, “He (Muhith) has given the budget on behalf of 122 rich families of the country who own 80 percent resources. He has reduced the corporate tax for banks by 2.5 percent for those who plundered thousands of crore of Taka from banks. So it’s a budget also mixed with adulteration.”
He urged the ruling party MPs to advocate for cancelling the Finance Minister’s proposal for reducing the corporate tax. “We can’t accept that you’ll give subsidy to banks by taxpayers’ money to create scope for plundering.”
Firoz Rashid also questioned as to why Muhith bowed down to the bank looters. “This is an imbalanced and discriminatory budget as the Finance Minister took position in favour of looters and the rich. There’s no step to reduce inequality in the budget.”
He also said people have no confidence in banks due to mismanagement and unabated plundering. “Banks have now turned into the institutions of some families instead of the country’s people.”
The Jatiya Party MP urged the government to take steps for restoring discipline in the banking sector so that people can benefit from the new budget. “We can’t pass the budget which was placed for creating scope for plunderers and a few rich,” he added.
He also said they (rich people) will go abroad instead of casting votes for whom the Finance Minister framed the budget. “But he ignored those middle-lower-middle class people, the poor and framers who will stand in long queues to give votes.”
Firoz Rashid said there is no discipline in the administration as all officials now show partisan attitude as if they have turned pro-Awami League officials. “They’re least bothered about giving people services. It’s an ominous sign for the nation. We must restore discipline in the administration.”
The opposition MP also slammed Muhith for denying that he gave two budgets in for Jatiya Party. “Jatiya Party is very bad to him, but the military rule is very sweet to him.”
He also criticised the Finance Minister for not recognising Ershad’s contributions to the nation in his budget speech. “He did it as he is a bureaucrat. This is the basic difference between a bureaucrat and a politician. Bureaucrats forget everything easily while the politicians respect and love each other and recall their contributions.”
Firoz Rashid recalled the development works carried out during the HM Ershad-led government.
